Various types of Motion

By Mr. Kevin McCabe, IV, www.cardiffmartialarts.com

 

If you are 8th kup or above, you will already know that Taekwon-do has several different types of ‘motions.’ They are introduced gradually throughout the colour belt pattern syllabus and the first example appears in pattern Dan-Gun. This article will attempt to define these different types of movement. As with any art-form, there is sometimes room for interpretation; personally I think this is a good thing – it allows all students of Taekwon-do to question the approach. Without questioning your surroundings, you cannot hope to grow beyond them.

 

Normal motion

It seems nonsense to start defining other types of motion without first defining the ‘normal’ one. Basically, normal motion applies to the vast majority of Taekwon-do techniques. It uses normal rhythm, normal breathing and normal timing.

 

Slow Motion (noo-rin dongjak)

Movement is performed slowly with slow breathing. This is used to emphasise and important movement and to check balance, control, breathing and strength; i.e. strong leg muscles are needed in order to control the transfer of weight into the stance. Precisely how slowly a movement is performed is not written in stone, however, if you try to count “one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand” in your head whilst performing the movement this should give you good timing. Remember to breathe on slow movements; they are still techniques and all techniques require breath. Breath control amounts for almost one 5th of the marks available in tournament patterns, so if you do not breathe on slow movements you may lose the round! Make the breath audible, (just like on normal movements) but controlled. Also, try to time the hands and feet together as you would normally. This is difficult but shows good control when you can perfect it.

 

Fast Motion (baren dongjak)

Think of fast motion as being urgent and aggressive with normal breathing. Fast motion is nearly always used with attacks, most commonly two punches; ‘Short-cut’ your sine wave and spring straight from the first movement into the next. The techniques usually have separate sine waves (though sometimes a body shift is used instead) and both techniques have their own sharp breath. In some instances, fast motion is described in the performance of two kicks. Examples are in pattern Hwa-Rang, movements 18 & 19 (high turning kicks) and in pattern Choong Moo, movements 14 & 15 (high turning kick and middle back piercing kick). When performing these movements, do not rush them just because they are in ‘fast motion.’ They may indeed be executed faster than two normal speed hand techniques, simply because kicks can generally be performed more quickly anyway, but don’t let the idea of ‘fast motion’ throw your nice technique out of the window!

 

Continuous Motion (chari-chari dongjak)

The way that continuous motion is performed has been updated in recent times, so please pay particular attention to this section.

Continuous motion describes two or more techniques that are performed each with their own sine wave but with one continuous breath throughout. This breath must be accentuated on the actual techniques themselves, and be quieter/softer in between the impact of the two techniques. Both techniques are fully completed (as with all normal movements) but you should allow your body to flow from one technique to the other. Continuous movements always start with a block.

 

Connecting Motion (ee-o-jin dongjak)

This is when two movements share both one sine wave and one breath. The first technique occurs on the highest point of your sine wave and the second technique ends of the “down” phase at the end. Generally the first technique is some kind of ‘soft’ block (hooking block or scooping block). This softness means that there is no dramatic impact on these blocks. The breath control mirrors this, by starting gently and building to an emphatic exhale on the second technique, which is usually an attack. Note that the ‘softness’ of the first block doesn’t mean do it slow motion.

 

In the case of connecting motion, think of the first technique (a block) setting up for second technique which is a counter-attack to the initial attack against you. Connecting movements always uses opposing arms.

 

Consecutive Kicks (yonsok chagi)

A consecutive kick is when two or more kicks are executed from the same leg without that leg touching the floor in between.